Title: These Is My Words Author: Nancy E. Turner
Published: February 3, 1998
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Page Count: 384
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:A moving, exciting, and heartfelt American saga inspired by the author's own family memoirs, these words belong to Sarah Prine, a woman of spirit and fire who forges a full and remarkable existence in a harsh, unfamiliar frontier. Scrupulously recording her steps down the path Providence has set her upon—from child to determined young adult to loving mother—she shares the turbulent events, both joyous and tragic, that molded her, and recalls the enduring love with cavalry officer Captain Jack Elliot that gave her strength and purpose.
Rich in authentic everyday details and alive with truly unforgettable characters, These Is My Words brilliantly brings a vanished world to breathtaking life again.
I feel like pioneer fiction has seen its peak come and go already; with a few exceptions, it’s not nearly as popular or common on new release lists as it used to be. But for those of us who grew up imagining themselves in a covered wagon alongside Laura Ingalls and Jack the bulldog, pioneer fiction will always be worth reading. Thus, Nancy E. Turner’s These Is My Words, published in 1998, is a welcome addition to my collection of covered wagon novels. Presented as the diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, an uneducated but fierce woman, this book captures much of what makes pioneer fiction so appealing: tough characters pitted against harsh conditions, close family ties, and unlikely yet passionate romance.
Because the book covers such a large span of years, 1881 to 1901, readers get to experience most of Sarah’s adult life alongside her. It is, honestly, a little too ridden with tragedy, especially in the first 20 pages, when it seems like not a single diary entry can go by without someone in Sarah’s life dying. I’m not saying this is unrealistic, exactly, but there are an awful lot of character (and dog!) deaths in These Is My Words. Perhaps, because of the endless string of death and other misfortune, I became a little numbed to it all.
Which isn’t to say there weren’t some bright spots in the book—there were. Sarah led a full life, and had a mostly happy family life with her husband Jack and their numerous children. It would be unfair to say the book is all doom and gloom all the time. But it doesn’t begin on a good note, and the ending is mostly…sad.
Anyway. The first person narration really allowed Turner to give Sarah a voice, one that changed and grew as she matured and improved upon her education as best she could. Sarah, as is probably not a surprise, isn’t a “typical” 19th century woman. She shoots and rides better than most men and doesn’t have a lot of softness in her. This serves her well in Arizona Territory and life as a rancher. If I recall correctly, the author manages to set up an atypically “unfeminine” protagonist without casting aspersions on other women, which is always a plus. Also, Sarah liked to shoot, but she also liked pretty dresses and fancy things, which I think was a nice contradiction to the norm.
As much ground as These Is My Words covers, it is interesting that Turner went on to write two sequels. Personally, I don’t see myself reading them–they sound a bit heavy on drama with an extra dose of even more tragedy. This book stands pretty well on its own, I think. Readers have seen Sarah come into her own, fall in love, raise a family, and create a name and life for herself that she can be proud of. It’s a good book and a good story, just not one meriting a trilogy.
